Attention, hazmat haulers heading into Canada: The federal transportation ministry no longer accepts a hazardous materials endorsement as the sole evidence that a driver has completed necessary training.

Additional proof is now required in the form of a certificate of training that must be provided to inspectors upon request, according to Transport Canada.

“Canadian legislation requires that a person who handles, offers for transport, or transports dangerous goods be adequately trained and hold a training certificate. Their training certificate is their proof of training and must be provided to an inspector upon request,” Spokeswoman Maryse Durette told Land Line on Oct. 1.

American hazmat haulers are regulated under the Code of Federal Regulations Title 49, known as CFR 49. Until the new hazmat requirement took effect north of the border, U.S. haulers did not have to show their training certificates in Canada. That’s the part that has changed.

New requirements are set out in section 6.3 of Part 6 of Canada’s Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations. There is no change for Canadian drivers, who are already required to carry certificates.

“Some enforcement personnel and some in the trucking industry are under the impression that the hazmat endorsement on the back of the hazmat carriers’ driver’s license meets American requirements that are equivalent to Canadian training requirements,” said Durette.

“If they do, these are acceptable. However, since U.S. drivers’ licenses are administered state-by-state, some states’ endorsements meet the Canadian standards; others do not.”

Long story short, you need to be able to produce the certificate.

The new regulation took effect in late September with an education period that lasts until full enforcement begins in March 2010.

Training and certificates can be obtained either through a third-party vendor such as JJ Keller or through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, online at phmsa.dot.gov. LL